We often get questions about who should do barre or who shouldn’t. But we truly believe that barre is a fantastic and effective workout for all ages and ability levels!

– Barre will challenge you and your muscles no matter what your fitness level is. One of the fundamentals of barre is working each muscle group to fatigue. When the muscles fibers work to exhaustion, they break down and are rebuilt stronger! Combined with bursts of cardio, we build strength and burn calories!

– Barre can be modified for all fitness abilities. You’re in control of how hard you work in a barre class — you can always modify a movement by creating a smaller range of motion or working in a slightly higher position. Need some suggestions? Check with your instructor at your next class!

– Barre will energize you! Tired after a long day in the office? Feeling sapped of energy? There’s no better way to re-energize than a workout with music, a ballet barre, and your local barre community!

We love all the inspirational stories of those who have used their time at the barre to stay strong while expecting, to combat chronic illness, or to recover from an injury! What’s your story? What will it be?

Of course if you are pregnant or have questions about your physical condition or a serious illness or injury, you should always speak with your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.

We just got new socks for sale in the studio! We’re calling them our “Mantra Socks”! Why Mantra Socks? They have inspirational messages on them:

be strong

be brave

be fearless

One pair says “be grateful”. When I look down at these socks, and my legs are shaking, I’m always reminded now of all I have to be grateful for! In barre class and out of it!

We use other mantras in class:

let the legs shake

you’re just as strong as you tell yourself you are

strong exhales!

What motivates you? What’s your favorite mantra? What do you tell yourself to push through a difficult exercise? Focus on the positive. Use it to push through the difficult. A challenging exercise. A difficult life experience. Speak positive things into your life and see how much stronger — inside and out — you’ll be!

Sufficiently intrigued by our post title? Amy Cuddy did a pretty well-known TED talk on the significant effect of body language on our lives: not only does our body language influence what others think about us, but our body language can influence how we feel about ourselves. And not only how we feel about ourselves, but our own body language can in fact effect physiological changes, such as increasing or decreasing hormone levels (like the stress hormone cortisol and the “dominance” hormone testosterone) in our blood. Check out the talk here: Amy Cuddy.

One of the main postures Amy Cuddy talks about is the “Victory” pose. You know the one. When you stand, bring your arms above your head in a “V”. Your chest lifts a little, your chin lifts. Researchers found that this posture decreases the stress hormone cortisol and increases the “dominance” hormone testosterone in our blood. In as little as two minutes of holding this pose. This leads to greater confidence, less stress and even better abstract thinking!

Sound like the opposite of what we do at work, hunched over our computers? Yep. Good news though: sure sounds like how we start our classes! It’s an energetic pose, it takes up a lot of space, and yes, increases confidence and reduces stress! We’ll see you at the barre for your next confidence boost! See how the big and small moves we do in class create big changes in your life!

Before I started barre, almost my entire workout routine consisted of running with a little of what I called “light strength and cross training” but really consisted of only a few push-ups and maybe a day or two a week on a stationary bike and virtually no stretching! My quads were definitely strong, but my weak glutes and hamstrings were starting to contribute to lower back pain.

Enter barre. Runners often get discouraged at first when their legs start shaking uncontrollably during thigh exercises in barre class. The experts (Dancing vs. Running) attribute this to the difference between the sustained strength-training work for the thighs in barre classes and the split second rest each leg gets when striding during a run.

In contrast, barre focuses not only on sustained strength-training for the thighs but also on building strength in the hamstrings and glutes. This creates strong muscles all the way around each leg. When the whole leg is strong, it helps prevent injuries because we don’t have stronger muscles pushing the weaker muscles too hard and causing strains or tears.

Not to mention we don’t let you get out of class without stretching out the quads, hip flexors and hamstrings! This alleviates tightness throughout the leg muscles — and makes the leg muscles less prone to injury!

Nothing we do will require fancy footwear — no pointe shoes required! But we do require that all clients wear socks during class. And we recommend grippy socks for maximum resistance on the hardwood floors and mats. We have Shashi classic black socks available for purchase ($10) at the studio, but it you’re looking to add some color to your outfit check out these socks at pointe studio and sticky be socks!

We also have tank tops (top right) and new long sleeve shirts (bottom right) with the Detroit Barre logo for sale.

This past July my dear friend Cathy invited me to join her at a barre class. She explained that a new studio was opening in Detroit and the owner wanted to do a trial class before their official opening date. I almost couldn’t go because of other plans that day, but those plans were rescheduled so off I went. I had no idea what to expect and was not at all familiar with barre. Something about “ballet, yoga and pilates.”

At 45, my main form of exercise has always been running. As I grunted and groaned my way through that first class all I could think was, “They have got to be kidding!” It was so hard! I admit I may have shot Cathy a few what-have-you-gotten-me-into dirty looks and I may have even thrown one of those red balls we use in class at her head. Ok, so I did actually throw the ball at her. The next day I was incredibly sore. My triceps, hamstrings, thighs, abs and glutes were in agony. But it was a good agony and I was intrigued. So I went back the following weekend. And so it went. I was hooked! The only weekend I’ve missed a class was when I had a race. Barre is the best form of cross training for running. I have improved my half marathon time by 8 minutes!

Not to scare anyone, but I find it easier to run a half marathon than to do a one hour barre class. I can run without stopping. I cannot do a barre class without coming out of a pose every now and again. And again and again. As an added bonus I love supporting an independently female owned and operated business in the city of Detroit. The renovated carriage house studio is full of the charm of old Detroit buildings that I love and is a wonderful place to spend an hour exercising.

Practice Makes Perfect — Naturally, I spend A LOT of time going over exercises; working out the timing and making sure that each workout will optimally cover every muscle group, leaving attendees fatigued (but not overwhelmed), and excited to return! I try to put together a class that is challenging and fun; a class that I would enjoy taking, including the music – because when it comes to class preparation, choosing the music is my favorite part!

Mixing it Up — I consider my taste in music to be highly eclectic, and I try to impart my passion for this diversity into the playlist I make for my classes. Like most music fanatics, I love to explore when it comes to finding new music. Through Pandora, the radio, and (sometimes) my husband, I’m exposed to new music everyday. So typically, I find myself compiling barre mixes with some old and familiar tunes that clients will know, while adding some of my new favorites into the mix. So don’t be surprised when I bring back the classics : ) Finally, I spend some time reviewing the music I would like and making sure it times out so that songs and exercises flow. When all the preparation is ready, I get to share what I have planned with you, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Barre workouts are mental as much as they are physical! There is always so much to remember and incorporate to maximize the effectiveness of each movement! Concentrate on putting intentional work into each and every movement. Sometimes running through a mental checklist during each exercise can help. Think: Are my abs drawn in? Are my hips tucked under? Am I resisting the movement? Am I breathing?

Set a Goal:

Set a goal for every class. Whether it’s staying in forearm plank for the entire 90 seconds or making it through each thigh set without a break – make attainable, recognizable goals for yourself so you can best appreciate the improvements you are making! Of course there are dozens of things we can each do to take our practice to the next level. But that can be so overwhelming! Recognize the victories you have each and every class and celebrate becoming stronger and stronger every class!

Don’t Compare:

Every person’s body is different. Respect your body and its differences and don’t compare yourself to other people in class. Each of us is built differently and has different limitations – not because there’s something “wrong” with us but that’s simply how our body is! So don’t feel like you’re not doing something right if you can’t get your leg perfectly straight or can’t rotate your leg quite as much in standing pretzel. Work where you are and your body will thank you for it!

Not sure about an exercise in class? Still not sure what tucking is? Talk to a teacher! We teach because we love barre (or are obsessed :)) – and we love nothing more than to share our passion!